NEW DELHI: A high-level committee (HLC) will be set up to suggest ways and identify means to address the issue of illegal and unauthorised telephone communication in the jails, after receiving approval from Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena, Raj Niwas officials said on Thursday. The committee will be headed by the DG (prisons) and consist of experts from IIT, Delhi Police, and central agencies. The panel has been given a month to submit its recommendations.
Officials said the panel will explore suitable jamming solutions emerging in the market (in addition to the existing infrastructure) and their testing in prisons to check their effectiveness in blocking incoming and outgoing calls, SMS messages, and data services in prison premises. The move has come after existing jammers became inefficient in blocking mobile networks in prison premises after the advent of 4G communication technology, they added.
“At least 31 mobile jammers were installed in the Tihar and Rohini jails between 2008 and 2012. These jammers were effective in blocking 2G and 3G mobile signals, but after the introduction of 4G services in the country, they became ineffective in blocking mobile signals and became unproductive,” an official said.
Later, a Harmonious Call Blocking System (HCBS) was installed in several jails to block 4G networks, with the prospect of updating it for 5G as well. Special towers were built to roll out the system, but it could not fetch a 100 per cent result and instead hampered network services for people living nearby the jails.
“Despite being effective to a very large extent, the system could not prevent leakage in totality. While the telecom service providers could not provide a mechanism for real-time monitoring of the effectiveness of the installed HCBS, these towers were also causing a problem of blocking calls and data services for ordinary citizens living in the residential areas around the jails,” he added.